Would You Stick Needles into Your Face If It Meant Better Skin?

If someone told you that punching hundreds of tiny pinpricks into your face would make you look younger would you do it?

If you said yes, you're not alone. Micro needling, or CIT (Collagen Induction Therapy) is a process whereby you use a needle-covered roller to poke miniscule holes into your skin, causing microscopic injury, which stimulates the growth of collagen. Think laser therapy minus the high tech tools.

Why would someone (voluntarily) turn their face into a pincushion? Because of increasing evidence that doing so can help to lessen wrinkles, lines, scarring and work to reverse sun damage.

Also, because micro needling can be done in the privacy of your own bathroom -- for a fraction of the cost of in-office laser treatments -- it's tempting to anyone who struggles with complexion problems.

Dr. David Duffy, a dermatologist in Torrance, Calif. (a Los Angeles suburb) who offers micro needling in his office, told The Cut that, "What I realized when I saw this device is it's sort of the poor man's Fraxel [laser]. It basically promotes new tissue growth and it does it very simply, with simple trauma. It costs a hundred grand for a Fraxel machine, but these little rollers can give you damn near the same results for next to nothing."

One of the biggest promises micro needling purports to make is allowing your skin care products to better seep into your skin. Dr. Duffy says that less than 10 percent of the products you're using penetrate the surface and that having the "holes" better allows ingredients access to the lower layers of your dermis.

Even pros that aren't fans of the process have to admit that they have colleagues who have been swayed. Dr. Heidi Waldorf, director of laser and cosmetic dermatology at New York City's Mount Sinai Medical Center, is one such expert. She told The Cut that "The only reason I can see to [do it] is for cost," noting that many dermatologists use it because it's cheaper than lasers.

So, if you want to give needles a chance, you can either book an appointment with a local practitioner (call your derm for a referral) or try it yourself at home with a device like the Dermaroller which can be yours for the bargain price of $149.